Martin Hewitt (born February 19, 1958) is an American businessman and former actor. He is best known for his film debut as David Axelrod in Franco Zeffirelli's Endless Love (1981). His last role was a 2003 episode of ER.
Early life and education
Martin Hewitt was born on February 19, 1958, in San Jose, California. He is the second oldest of six children to Peter and Heather Hewitt. Peter Hewitt is a retired owner of a medical-equipment manufacturing firm. Hewitt's early years were spent in California, England, Belgium and Michigan.
Hewitt attended Claremont High School. Hewitt first acted at age 14 in a school production of The King and I. He studied business at a community college before switching to theater. According to Hewitt, "Some people actually wrote that I was discovered in a parking lot."
Hewitt garnered mostly neutral reviews for his portrayal of David Axelrod. Variety commented that "Since he's center stage most of the time, it's fortunate that newcomer Martin Hewitt registers so strongly. Zeffirelli has dressed and photographed his find almost in the style of some of his mentor Luchino Visconti's neo-realist heroes, with two-day beard growths and anachronistic Clark Gable undershirts." Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that Hewitt "has neither the resources nor the opportunity to convey much about how David's mind works, even though this is what the story hinges on." Nevertheless, Hewitt said, "I don't care what anyone says; I am proud of that film." Of the films he appeared in during the '80s included: April Fool, later to be titled Killer Party (1986), The Falling (1986) and Two Moon Junction (1988). In the latter film, he portrayed Chad, the fiancé of Sherilyn Fenn's character. Hewitt previously worked with Fenn in Out Of Control (1985). Hewitt had also done straight-to-video productions including Crime Lords (1991), Carnal Crimes (1991) and Night Rhythms (1992).
"I really don't miss it," he says of his brief Hollywood heyday. "I've got my own company. I live in a great area. I have great kids. I surf every other day. I've got it all as far as I'm concerned." Shields later vouched for this in her 2014 memoir, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me. "Martin and I got along well and enjoyed working with one another. We neither fell in love nor hated each other...All we were required to do was convince people we were in love. This approach freed us both up to become actual friends."
While Hewitt was filming Crime Lords in South Africa in 1989, he met German-born flight attendant Kerstin Gneiting, whom he married in 1990. They divorced in 2015. Their two children are daughter Guinevere and son Cailean.